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Eminem Put a Word in the Dictionary

MONDAY, JUNE 05, 2017 |

Posted by: Caroline Bojarski

Guess who's back... back again... Sorry, I couldn't resist. Every time you think Eminem is ready to settle down to a quiet life of whatever rappers do in retirement, he pops back up with a new album, a new single, or, apparently, a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary. The online edition of the OED now defines "stan" as "An overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity." The new definition of stan was clearly coined by Eminem's 2000 song of the same name, in which Eminem raps the contents of the fan-mail sent from the imaginary Stan to his alter ego, Slim Shady.

As a word creator, Eminem joins the ranks of musical superstars such as Snoop Dogg, Beyonce and Drake. "Bootylicious," meaning "sexually attractive" was added in 2004 after Snoop Dogg and, of course, Destiny's Child made the term popular, and, although it makes everyone cringe, "yolo" was added to the dictionary thanks to Drake and "The Motto."

While I do my squats religiously in hopes of being described as bootylicious and heard yolo tossed around the halls of my high school enough to last several lifetimes, I have never heard anyone use the word "stan" as the OED now defines it. I'm pretty sure I would get some raised eyebrows if I tried to slip it into casual conversation. Regardless, adding a word to the dictionary is the ultimate middle finger from Eminem to the English teacher who wanted to flunk him in junior high. Sorry. Couldn't resist.